Revelations
by Ranger Aurora
Summary: AU Stephen finds a way to bring Marcus back, and Ivanova isn't sure how she feels... Please read & review!
1. Admittance

Disclaimer: I don't own Babylon 5 or the characters. For now, I must be content to write fanfiction. . . -_Sighs heavily-_

Anyway, here goes nothing.

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"I love you," Marcus Cole said softly to the prone form of Commander Susan Ivanova beside him. He leaned against her bed, his last reserves of strength gone, sucked away by the alien healing device attached to his arm.

_The greatest sacrifice…_She would be angry with him for this, Marcus knew. And, he hoped she would feel something else, too…

Marcus closed his eyes and felt his life slip away.

---

Susan Ivanova lay in her quarters. It was one in the morning, but she wasn't sleeping. She lay on her bed, thinking.

_Why? Why did he do it? _she asked silently, though she already knew the answer. _He loved me._

Damn him! Damn him and his romantic notions! She had been ready to die, had seen her death and accepted it. And here she was, alive, but confused and uncertain.

Tears formed at the corners of her eyes, and Susan angrily dashed them away with the back of her hand.

_I love you._ His last words to her. She rolled over and buried her face in her pillow, crying again.

Because inside, she knew she felt the same way about him.

---

Doctor Stephen Franklin sat at his console. The last few days had been exhausting. Ever since he had gotten back and found Marcus…well, it had been one crisis after another. The most recent incident had been a shipful of Pak'ma'ra injured in an attack by Drakh fighters.

His thoughts returned to Marcus. He'd put the Ranger in cryo as soon as he had arrived. _There must be a way to save him._ There was the alien healing machine, but that left them in the same situation as before—one person giving up his life so another could live.

Damn. With the First Ones gone, there would be no miraculous recovery like Sheridan's. Marcus needed life energy, and modern medicine, advanced as it was, couldn't give him that.

Suddenly Stephen sat up, raising his comm link to his mouth.

"Franklin to Lieutenant Corwin."

"Corwin. Go ahead."

"I need you in Medlab, ASAP. I've got an idea."

---

Susan walked into C&C. She was on medical leave for three days more, but she needed to do something, anything, to take her mind off Marcus.

Corwin looked up at her from his console, obviously surprised.

"Commander! Aren't you…I mean, shouldn't you be…"

"Medical leave, I know." She sighed. "I'm going to go stir crazy if I don't do something."

She walked over to the window. "I'll just stand here and watch you guys…and yell at you if you mess up."

"Alright, commander," Corwin laughed.

A voice came through the comm system.

"We're ready to go."

Susan narrowed her eyes.

"Is that Stephen? What's he doing?"

Corwin ignored her and replied, "You're clear for launch."

Susan walked toward Corwin. "Where's Stephen going?"

Corwin looked down at the console suddenly.

"Commander, there's a message coming in for you on Gold Channel. It's the captain."

"I'll take it in his office," she replied. "Patch it through."

Susan climbed to steps to the office and sat in John's chair. _This is a nice chair, _she thought, distractedly.

Then John Sheridan's face appeared on the screen. His boyish grin lit his face as he saw her.

"Susan," he greeted her warmly. "How's it going?"

"Fine, John," she answered, but felt tears start to form in her eyes. Angrily, she blinked them away, looking down at her hands.

"I heard about what happened," John said in a softer voice. "I'm so sorry, Susan."

Her throat constricted, and Susan drew a shuddering breath. What was happening to her? She had to regain her composure.

"But, that's not why I called," John continued. "I suppose you've heard, we took back Earth, and I've given myself up"

She nodded, that much had been on ISN for the past few days.

"President Luchenko offered amnesty for the crew, if I resigned my position in Earthforce. I agreed."

"John," Susan started to interrupt, but he cut her off.

"Susan, before I resign my commission, I want to give you something you've been due a long time. I am officially promoting you to full captain."

Susan's jaw dropped, and for several seconds she was speechless. John laughed at her reaction.

"John, I… ah hell, thank you," she finally said.

John smiled. "You're welcome, Susan. I'll see you soon." And with that, he ended the transmission.

Susan sat back in the chair. _Captain._ The title sounded foreign in conjunction with her name. _Captain Susan Ivanova. _

_---_

Susan collapsed with a sigh onto a chair in her quarters. She held an empty glass in one hand, and a bottle of vodka in the other. She filled the glass, and studied it for a moment. As she lifted the glass to her lips, the tone sounded, indicating an incoming message.

_Damn. Everyone here has the worst timing_. Susan set down the vodka and stood, facing the screen.

Doctor Franklin's face appeared on the screen.

"Susan, you were due in Medlab eight minutes ago," he told her. "Are you all right?"

"Stephen, I'm perfectly fine," she replied, "And you know it. I don't need another examination."

The doctor gave her a stern look. "I expect you here in three minutes," he said, and ended the transmission.

Susan rolled her eyes, but Stephen missed that.

Precisely three minutes later, Susan stepped into Medlab.

Stephen was waiting for her. "Step this way, please," he said, guiding her to an examination table.

"Don't play the good doctor with me," Susan snapped irritably.

He ignored her. "Take a seat," he said, indicating the padded table.

She sat while he ran a scanner over her body.

"Arm, please," he said, meaning he meant to do a blood test.

Susan winced, just barely noticeably, as the needle pierced her skin, remembering the injections her mother used to get. Needles still haunted her.

"You know, this really isn't necessary," she said.

"I beg to differ," he retorted. "What am I supposed to do if I can't stick someone with a needle at least once a day? That's the real reason I became a doctor, you know," he said, conspiratorially.

Susan didn't even crack a smile.

Stephen sighed. "Alright, if you're going to be that way…Now promise me you'll behave. . ."

"What?" Susan was confused. "Well, fine."

"Good," Stephen said, and then led her to a room with all the blinds down over the large observation windows. He opened the door, and Susan froze.

There, on the bed, lay Marcus; eyes closed, skin pale, but very definitely alive.

Susan fainted.

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First of all, I want to thank you, the reader, for, well, reading. -_I finally got my story online!-_ Sorry-must try to contain my joy. Anyway, please review, now that you've read! I really want to know what people think about my writing!

More to come (hopefully) soon!


	2. Confusion

Disclaimer- I don't own it, or I'd be writing scripts, not fanfic

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Susan came to with the face of the doctor filling her vision. She sat up quickly, took a deep breath, and then slowly looked back at the Medlab bed.

He was still there.

Doctor Franklin looked concerned and amused at the same time.

"Sorry, maybe I shouldn't have sprung it on you like that, but I didn't think you would faint!"

Susan stood, placing one hand against the door frame for stability, then turned toward him, eyes flashing.

"What the hell is going on here, Stephen? Why is _he_ here?"

Stephen's expression became serious, but Susan could also detect a flicker of confusion in his eyes.

"Susan, I know this is a shock for you right now, in this stage of the grieving process, but try to understand me. Marcus was—is a good man and friend to many, myself included."

His dark eyes watched her face, and she returned his gaze with her fiercest glare.

"Damn it, I couldn't just let him die!" Stephen yelled suddenly, enraged at her coldness. Didn't she care about him?

"You didn't even tell me!" Susan exclaimed. "I thought he was dead, and you go and resurrect him without telling me what you were doing? May I remind you who is in command of this station!"

"And what about me?" she continued, "You couldn't let him die, but I was a lost cause? What the hell, Stephen?"

She stood there a moment, nostrils flared, eyes glittering with fury. Then she slumped against the door frame and turned her face away.

"Just leave me alone, Stephen."

The doctor looked at her for a second, then snapped his arm up in a salute and said acidly, "Yes, _Captain_." With that, he turned on his heel and left the room.

Susan sighed heavily after he was gone. Then she steeled herself and turned toward _him_.

Marcus looked pale, but otherwise alright, regardless of the IV in his arm. He was comatose, though, or asleep; Susan couldn't tell.

Despite her misgivings, she approached the bed slowly, her eyes on his face. Then she was at his side.

One of his hands lay on top of the coverlet, and Susan reached down and took it in both of hers. His hand was warm, with underlying strength she could feel.

A solitary tear rolled down her cheek.

"Marcus…" The name escaped her lips before she realized it.

One of the various medical instruments in the room beeped at her, but she ignored it.

Then the man beside her moved. Susan froze, still holding his hand. Marcus exhaled heavily, and his head shifted slightly, and then his eyes opened.

Susan saw the light in his eyes as he recognized her, and a swirl of emotions rose in her chest. She firmly shoved them back down where they belonged.

"Hullo, Susan," Marcus said weakly.

"Hello, Marcus," she replied softly, then she dropped his hand and fled the room.

---

Susan was in her quarters with her vodka again. She sat, lost in thought and nursing her drink. She hadn't even bothered to change out of her uniform into something more comfortable.

The events of last night replayed themselves vividly in her head. Her argument with Stephen, seeing Marcus…

It was too much. She had spent the day working herself to exhaustion, to keep her mind off the topic. And now she was reverting to her alcohol again.

_This is not a good habit, _she thought ruefully, _and I can just imagine what Stephen would say._

The thought didn't stop her from finishing her drink.

---

Susan was putting her hair up in preparation for another long day when the door chime sounded.

"Yes?" she called distractedly as she wrestled with her hair.

"Ivanova, it's me," came a familiar voice through the comm system.

She stiffened for a moment, then in frustration, let her hair cascade back down over her shoulders as she called, "Enter."

The door opened to reveal Garibaldi, his hands casually tucked in his pockets. He stepped inside, and the door closed behind him.

"Hey, Ivanova, how's it going?" he asked good-naturedly, seating himself on one of her chairs.

"Hello, Garibaldi," she said, the slightest hint of frostiness evident in her tone. She sat opposite him on the sofa.

The former chief of security sighed, and reached up to run a hand through his non-existent hair, realized his mistake, and rubbed his bald crown instead.

"Susan," he began, "I'm sure you heard about what happened on ISN, but I think you should hear the whole story."

"You'd better have a damn good explanation for what you did, Michael."

He clasped his hands in front of him and leaned forward. "Susan, I'm sure you remember when I disappeared last year, and was found later on an unidentified ship."

She nodded curtly.

"The ship…it was a PsiCorps ship. Bester and some others messed with my mind so they could control me and get me to turn Sheridan in. It was only after I'd helped capture him and gotten some information to PsiCorps that Bester, for some twisted reason, returned me to my…original state."

His face contorted in a grimace of pain as he remembered his betrayal of Sheridan.

"When I realized what I'd done, I went to the Resistance on Mars to see Stephen. Lyta was there, and she verified my story, otherwise the Resistance leaders would have had me shot. As you know, I'm sure, I went with Lyta and Stephen to rescue Sheridan. I felt terrible, Susan, and I just wanted you to know; I'm so sorry for what I did to you and to him, and everyone else."

Susan's face was pale as he finished his recounting. Her emotions churned within her, guilt being the most prevalent.

"When I heard you were trying to contact Babylon 5, I ordered you shot on sight if you showed up." Susan whispered hoarsely. "And all along it was those bastards in PsiCorps."

"Susan, it's okay," Michael said, "There's no way you could have known, no way anyone could have known. I don't blame you, and no one else does either."

She gave him a look of sincere gratitude. "Thanks, Michael."

"Oh, yes, one more thing, Susan."

"What?"

"John and Delenn should be docking any minute now."

"Garibaldi!"

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Ha! You thought it was going to be Marcus, didn't you? April Fools!

More interesting parts and explanations coming soon...provided I get some reviews.

Thanks to Evil Shall Giggle, Hikari-Kayko, & 'Who Else?(anonymous person #1) for your reviews! They made me happy!

'Who Else?'- the sections looked longer when I typed them on my computer...you know how it works.


	3. Rejection

I don't own Babylon 5 or the characters, or the places, or probably even my own ideas. In that case...um..something. Whatever.

Sorry it's been a while since I updated! Fortunately, faithful reader, you still love me. If you don't, then you're not reading this anyway, so screw you.

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Susan sat at the bar at Earhart's, a smile on her face and a drink in her hand. She watched as John led Delenn out onto the makeshift dance floor— created by simply pushing some tables aside— and attempt to teach the Minbari how to dance. Delenn moved rather stiffly at first, with a look on her face that clearly said she didn't understand this human custom, but with John's encouragement, she began to loosen up and move more freely.

When the song ended, Delenn pulled John back to their table before another song could begin. Susan saw Delenn lean over and speak in John's ear. They shared a quick kiss, then John stood up. He tried to politely get everyone's attention, but when that didn't seem to be working, he resorted to his usual method.

"HEY!" he yelled at the top of his voice. All sound immediately ceased, except for Garibaldi's voice.

"You can tell he's a CO."

Everyone chuckled.

John shot his former security chief a look, and Garibaldi held up his hands as if warding off an attack.

"John, we all know it's true."

Another burst of laughter filled the room, with even Delenn joining in. John smiled ruefully.

"Even my wife's ganging up on me now."

After the laughter subsided, John began to speak.

"I want to thank you all for everything you've done over the past few years. In every crisis, every battle, you could always be depended on. In all my years in Earthforce, I've never had a crew as good as this one."

Everyone applauded. They all liked being made to feel special.

"Delenn and I appreciate you all coming to help us celebrate our marriage. It really means a lot to us."

Suddenly the sound of tapping on glass was heard. People turned to see Garibaldi tapping his glass of water with a spoon, a wicked grin on his face. Susan immediately grabbed a nearby spoon and joined in. John glared daggers at the both of them, but it did no good. More people joined them, until the room was filled with the sound of metal on glass.

John sighed, looking slightly annoyed. Delenn, meanwhile, looked confused, until John pulled her to a standing position and kissed her deeply. The crowd cheered.

As they parted, Garibaldi signaled for the music to start up again, and couples moved back onto the dance floor. Susan saw Stephen dancing with Dr. Hobbs and Zack leading Lyta onto the floor. She felt a momentary longing to be out there dancing with someone, but her traitorous mind kept pulling up the image of Marcus out there with her. She resolutely pushed the image out of her mind.

Suddenly, a figure in a wheelchair appeared at the entrance. It was Marcus.

_Oh shit._

---

Marcus entered Earhart's, one hand on the controls of his motorized wheelchair. He performed an experimental spin, and was pleased with the responsiveness of the unit. If he had to be in a wheelchair, at least he was going to have fun with it.

As soon as Dr. Franklin had left, Marcus had gone to work convincing the nurse on duty to let him go to John and Delenn's reception. It hadn't been easy, but by promising to take it easy and stay in the wheelchair, he had gotten out of Medlab.

Marcus made his way over to John and Delenn.

"Entil Z'ha," he said respectfully, then, "Mr. President."

"Marcus," John said warmly. "Good to see you."

"You, too," Marcus replied. "Congratulations to the both of you. And now, I need to go find Mr. Garibaldi. He owes me twenty credits."

"And why is that," Delenn asked, "Or do I not want to know?"

"I told him you two would get married privately. He said he and Ivanova would be there. I won."

"So, you were betting on us," John said, laughing. "I find that mildly alarming."

"Well," Marcus said, "I know for a fact that you and Garibaldi were betting on how soon I would be up and working after the denn'shah with Neroon, so I call it cosmic retribution."

Delenn turned to John, mock disapproval on her face. "You were gambling? That is not a good activity for the new president of the ISA to be engaged in."

"I'll reform," he replied. "Besides, I won, anyway."

As Delenn pulled her new husband into a kiss, Marcus discreetly left, heading towards the bar. He dodged a rather inebriated Londo and nearly collided with a chair that was in his path. Then he saw Susan.

---

Susan could hear the motor of the wheelchair as Marcus moved around the room, though she tried to ignore it.

_Oh, god, he's coming closer. _She did not want to have a confrontation right now. She entertained the idea of pulling her PPG on him, but it would cause no end of trouble. And paperwork. She hated paperwork.

He was behind her now, and he seemed to be moving back and forth…She had no idea what he was doing.

_Bzzzzzt! Bzzzzzzt!_

"Shoot!"

_Bzzzzzzt! Bzzzzzzzzt! Bzzzzzzt!_

"Oh, come on, you bloody stupid machine!"

Susan gritted her teeth and tried to ignore him, but the hum of the wheelchair was drilling its way into her head.

Finally she turned to him, and, in the coldest voice she could muster, said, "Marcus, what the hell are you doing?"

He didn't get the hint, or, more likely, ignored it.

"Trying to parallel park, actually. Would you mind moving your chair about…" he looked down at the position of his wheelchair compared to her chair, "…eleven point six centimeters to the left?"

She obliged without really thinking about it, and immediately reprimanded herself mentally. Now she was going to have to talk to him.

Marcus maneuvered in next to her, and after a second's indecision, pressed one of the buttons below the joystick control. A loud screeching alarm immediately began to sound, and the Ranger hastily pressed the button again to silence it.

"Sorry, false alarm," Marcus said to everyone in the room. The group relaxed, and Zack and Garibaldi took their hands off their PPGs.

"Panic button," Marcus muttered to Susan, "In case someone in Down Below tries to mug the helpless invalid."

Susan snorted. Even in a wheelchair, Marcus was anything but helpless.

Marcus looked at the buttons again.

"Okay, not the red button. Maybe it was the yellow one."

He pressed another button, and the seat of the wheelchair raised itself to the level of the other chairs at the bar.

"There we go. Handy feature," Marcus said. "Unfortunately, it locks the wheels in this mode, so I can't go riding around like this. I might have to do some adjusting."

There was an awkward silence when Susan didn't respond.

"Susan?" he said hesitantly, and she flinched. "Susan, are you…are you alright?" he asked, and hesitantly reached out to lay his hand on her arm.

As soon as he touched her, she turned to face him, her eyes blazing with anger. She snatched her arm away and practically snarled at him, "It's none of your business how I feel, alright? Just…just leave me alone!" And with that, she stood and strode out of the restaurant.

Several concerned pairs of eyes followed her departure, including Marcus's. But he made no move to follow her.

There had been something besides fury in her eyes.


End file.
